Port Authority Eliminates Job Governor Christie Created For David Wildstein

06Feb

Even at the time, it seemed odd when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) gave

David Wildstein a powerful, lucrative position at the Port Authority. Steve Strunsky this morning explained why:

In all the vast history of the sprawling bureaucracy known as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey there has never been a job like it.

It came with no actual job description.

In the end, it had only one occupant, and he didn’t even have to submit a résumé.

Nobody seemed to have the vaguest idea what he was really doing.

But he was paid $150,020.

That is, until December 6 – two months ago tomorrow – when Wildstein announced late on a Friday afternoon that he was resigning from his post in the Christie administration, just as the bridge scandal was becoming a real national story.

Of course, that was quite a few subpoenas ago, and Wildstein’s relationship with his former team has changed a great deal since.

But there’s a related question: who’ll replace Wildstein at the Port Authority? Who will Christie choose as the next “director of interstate capital projects” – a position apparently designed for someone who’ll serve as the governor’s “eyes and ears” at the agency?

The answer, as of yesterday, is no one.

Steve Strunsky’s report added that the Port Authority has officially abolished the position, meaning that Wildstein “will be forever known as the first and last DICP appointee.”

Congratulations, Garden State taxpayers, you just saved $150,020.

State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D) told the Star-Ledger, “Maybe what it says is that his job wasn’t really necessary.”

Indeed, now that the position has been eliminated altogether, it stands to reason the governor’s office would explain why the post was created in the first place.